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Some Bible teachers regard the seven churches of Revelation to be a predictive prophecy representative of the chronological unfolding of the Church's history. There are several problems with this interpretation though. Firstly, the conditions described in each of these churches have been present in nearly every era of the Church's history. To view this as a chronological forecast of the global Church is grossly over simplistic, and unsustainable from a Church history. Secondly, it makes no sense for the Lord to command John to write to what we know were seven actual churches and cryptically invent scenarios that didn't actually pertain to them. If this had been the case, this epistle from John would have been dismissed as uninspired and thereby rejected from the Canon of Scripture very early. But it wasn't. This seems to suggest that the initial recipients acknowledged it as being truly insightful into their church's condition and presumably responded accordingly. This initial acceptance by these seven churches of what we know as the first three chapters of the Revelation would have also given added credibility to the remainder of the Book. Indeed, since it was readily accepted as integral to the Canon very early in the formation of the Canon we could also surmise that what appears to be very enigmatic to the modern reader may not have been so to the first readers. Remember the theme of the Book when reading about these churches? How Christ describes Himself to these churches is often overlooked by those more interested in speculating about what it might say about the future condition of the Church.
It's actually quite refreshing to avoid speculating about whether the Lord's messages to these churches are some cryptic predictions about the Church throughout the Ages. Instead, as we try to look over the shoulder of the original readers we can see how this revelation of Christ would have given them so much strength and courage. Imagine living during a time when becoming a Christian could cost you your life because you were seen as a threat to the stability of the Empire who would mercilessly deal with such threats. Imagine living during a time when being a Christian meant that you would be ostracized by your family, friends, and community, who would ruthlessly slander you for your faith in Christ. Imagine also living at time when you had been told that there was only a short time before Christ would return and bring all of creation under subjection to His authority, yet the longer you believed the less likely it seemed. Imagine how it must have felt to the first century Christians who witnessed some of their brothers and sisters being publicly martyred, and to see others openly forsaking their faith in Christ. But what about how John the apostle must have been feeling? He had oversight over at least seven churches. He knew that some of these churches were struggling in the midst of all this pressure. Some of them had resorted to trying to gain political approval by accumulating wealth and a corresponding prestige (Rev. 3:17). Others had just grown complacent thereby losing their zealous passion for Christ and His cause (Rev. 2:4). Still others had downright succumbed to an immorality-is-tolerated attitude (Rev. 2:20) which was destroying them in the process. John must have been tempted to despair. Everything looked like it was going awry. Christ's last words before His ascension stated His lordship over everything- but there was little visible evidence of it. Christ's last commission was to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations- but all the nations were rejecting the Church and killing its servants. Christ said He would return soon- but time was dragging on and there was no sign of His coming. Some of these issues are addressed in this Revelation. But the focal point of the Book of Revelation is not to make fanciful predictions about the future, but to point the reader back to Christ! The message contained in Revelation is a message that spoke straight into the hearts of the first hearers and still speaks with special power today. THE MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES AND TODAY'S APPLICATION… Ephesus… Today we should understand that Christian service requires diligence and hard work. They did not tolerate those who were evil. Today we should guard what we put aside in the name of "grace" and ensure that our grace does not become "disgrace" because we accept or tolerate what is evil. They tested those claiming to be apostles and found many of them to be liars. This implies that the apostolic ministry was not limited to the original disciples of Christ but is a ministry gift given by Christ to the Church to bring it to maturity. Apparently there were many who were claiming apostolicity (that they were apostles), but neither had the gifts nor the character to substantiate their claims. Today we should be both very careful about claiming to be an apostle, and secondly recognising someone as having an apostolic ministry when we have not tested it first. But, the Ephesian church had lost its first love for Christ. Today it is so possible to become distracted with so much administration and gadgetry that we can almost leave Christ out of the Christian equation. Love is the only appropriate response to Christ at any time. If there is no love in the church for Christ there is no need for it to exist- hence Christ says He would remove their lampstand (Rev. 2:5, which is symbolic of their witness as a church). In gracious conclusion Christ commends the Ephesians for being against the Nicolaitans who taught that there was a priestly class within Christianity. Today we should be especially on guard against teaching that contradicts the priesthood of all believers. Smyrna… The church at Smyrna was experiencing tribulation. Today we must be prepared to endure the discomfort that comes from standing up boldly for Christ, His Cause and His Values. While the church at Smyrna felt inadequate due to their lack of resources, it actually resulted in them having to depend upon the Lord which in turn made them "rich" in the eyes of the Lord. As wealthy and as well as we may resourced, if we become self-reliant we quite possibly could become spiritually bankrupt! We need to live dependant upon the Lord.
As also said to the church at Ephesus, Christ makes reference to "overcoming". For the Ephesians Christ said that overcoming would qualify them to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7). For those in Smyrna Christ said that overcoming the pressure to abandon Him would shield them from the second death. Pergamos… But Christ had some disappointments with the church at Pergamos. They had some people in the church who held to a false doctrine which endorsed a form of idolatry and sexual compromise. This is referred to as the teaching of Balaam. Today we must guard what doctrines are tolerated in the church. Wise pastors know how to gently correct the erring but teachable. But it is vital to also know how to confront and address those who hold to dangerous doctrines because their beliefs will eventually harm themselves and others! If we could believe anything then Christ would not address these two subtle doctrinal errors. The second doctrinal error is that they had some who held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. No can be sure at this stage (perhaps some manuscripts or archaeological data is yet to be discovered) exactly what this meant. But there is good reason to believe that this doctrine was the beginning of a teaching which drew a line of distinction between those who had received holy orders (cleros from where the word clergy comes from) and laity (ordinary). Hence it is speculated that the term Nicolaitans meant nico - over, laitan - ordinary; the doctrine of a priestly class of believers lording it over ordinary believers. Christ said that He hated this doctrine of the Nicolaitans. His instructions for dealing with this doctrine are short:: repent. And His warning for not doing so is severe: I will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. Today we must guard against elitism in the church. We must also understand the New Testament teaching on the priesthood of all believers which negates the possibility of a New Testament priestly class. Whenever the expression he who has ears let him hear is used it demands that the reader look beyond the natural implications of what has been said (note Isa. 6:10; 42:20; Jer. 5:21; 6:10; Ezek. 12:2; Matt. 11:15; 13:16). This necessitates that we understand that Christ is saying something that goes beyond what it immediately may sound like. We all (generally) have ears, but Christ is referring to understanding something that may not be immediately obvious. He makes this statement to each of the seven churches and it is still true today. Thyatira… The Lord also warned those who followed this woman. Christ warns that they were in danger of "great tribulation". We know that Caesar (Titus) Vespasian launched a campaign of terror against the Jews throughout the Empire around 70AD in which some Christian suffered as well. These followers of the woman Jezebel are called her children (vs. 23). John also referred to his disciples as his children (1John 2:1; 3:7). We should be on guard against any teaching that says that the Lord punishes children for the sins of their parents.
To interpret this verse as saying that the Lord Jesus would kill this woman's children is an error. Clearly the reference to children is to her followers. To be killed with "death" (verse 23) is akin to dying of pestilence- a wasting death brought about by disease.
The purpose for the Lord in dealing with these people so severely was to establish a clear message to all the churches that He would not tolerate sin in His Church. People often fail to understand that while God is absolutely gracious, He remains absolutely just. God did not stop being just in the New Testament! He was, is, and always will be just. He "searches the minds and hearts" is a timely reminder to us just as it was to the original recipients that Christ will judge our actions and motives/intents refer to Matthew 5:28. But not everyone in Thyatira had fallen prey to the corruption of false doctrine and immorality though. For these believers, it must have been tough to remain loyal and faithful in the midst of so much opposition. Graciously, the Lord Jesus says to these battered believers that He would lay no further burden on them vs. 24. Perhaps you have felt overwhelmed by life and your spirituality has suffered as a result. This can often lead to a downward spiral of guilt and condemnation. Take heart. Remain faithful to Christ and He lays no further on you. As a pastor I have had to counsel people with the Word of God through some tough periods in their life. They have confessed to me that they have felt ashamed because they weren't able to read their Bible as much as they had been used to, or prayed with the reverence they had grown to enjoy, or serve in the church with the diligence they knew was deserved. During these tough times, my pastoral counsel has often reflected Christ's words to the battered believers. Sardis… Each of these messages to the seven churches is primarily addressed to the "angel" of the church. The Greek word translated into English as "angel" is the word angelos which literally means messenger. It is used in the New Testament of both earthly and heavenly messengers. Since Christ is giving this message to the leader of the church at Sardis we note that he had ceased to "watch" and grown weak in good works and thus affected the whole church. The term "watch" is an Old Testament term. In the Old Testament it was the watchmen who were responsible to hear from God and deliver His Word, but they had failed to do so.
The church at Sardis had failed to watch. The correlation between the leader of a church and the spiritual depth of a church is now well established. Many people who move into a new area, and look for a new church home, make the mistake of basing their evaluation of a new church purely upon what the church offers them and their family rather than on who might be leading them. The leader of a local church has the privilege of setting the spiritual pace and tone of a church, and those who align themselves with a church will be influenced by the spiritual depth of the leader. To this leader, and church, Christ commands that they remember what they heard and return to it (repent). They are then told to watch. To "watch" demands prayerfulness, prophetic proclamation and heeding the word of God. Today we should also be watchful by give ourselves to prayerfulness, obedience and boldness in proclaiming God's Word. For the church at Sardis this was apparently their last opportunity to do so. Even in this church which looked alive, but was dead (Rev. 3:1), there were some who had not "defiled" their "garments". This expression generally related to sexual morality.
Christ promised those who had not defiled their garments that they would be clothed in white. This is an expression that is used several times in Revelation and speaks of the believer's resurrection with 'garments' of righteousness (Rev. 4:4; 7:9).
Philadelphia…
The reference to "the hour of trial" in Revelation 3:10 is regarded by Futurists as referring to a future "Great Tribulation". If this "Great Tribulation" was yet another 2,000 years away from the recipients of this message, then Christ's promise to "keep you from" it, is absurd. There is a growing number of scholars who acknowledge that this period occurred during the time leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. Interestingly, the New Testament uses three Greek words which are translated "world". One of those Greek words is "oikoumene" which refers to the Roman Empire (note the use of this word in Luke 2:1 and Romans 10:18). That is the word used here. Based on verse 11, something was very imminent: the coming of Christ to judge. It is ridiculous to make this mean anything other than what it plainly says therefore negating an interpretation which demands thousands of years of waiting in order to be fulfilled. The irony of verse 12 is that while Christ was about to do away with the last vestiges of the Older Covenant by the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, He promised to make the overcoming Philadelphian Christians "pillars" in the real Temple in the real Jerusalem (the Heavenly one). Laodicea… Also from a purely historic point of view the facts of Christianity's growth today flies in the face of this age being considered the "Laodicean Age". Never before in the history of Christianity have so many people been converting to Christ. This is taking place in both the Western world, the East, and the Middle Eastern world. The statements about this church are used to support a late date for the writing of Revelation. In 62AD Laodicea experienced a major earthquake. Because the church is described as being wealthy, some scholars have used this as internal evidence that Revelation must have been written toward the end of the first century so that the Laodicean church would have had time to become wealthy. But this assumes, perhaps wrongly, that because there was a destructive earthquake in Laodicea that the church would have been financially or materially depleted. We know from historical documents that Laodicea rebuilt itself within a couple of years and was restored to being a prosperous city within that time. So either way, this is a poor assumption for the late date of the writing of Revelation. Interestingly, we note Paul's prayer for the Laodiceans recorded in Colossians 2 -
Revelation's reference to the Laodicean church being wealthy makes Paul's prayer somewhat ironic. While the Laodicean church was materially wealthy, or perhaps in particular the Laodicean church's leader, they were spiritually poor. Today, while we may make financial security our goal, it is actually a dangerous thing to be in a situation where we need nothing (vs. 17) because we think we can live without God's daily bread! Laodicea was famous for four things. Firstly its water was lukewarm. Secondly, it produced eye ointment. Thirdly it produced coloured garments. Fourthly, it was a very wealthy city. Christ said to them that He wanted them hot or cold, but not lukewarm like their water. Secondly He said to them that they should use His eye salve (ointment). Thirdly He told them to wear white garments from Him. Fourthly He told them to buy true gold from Him which had been refined by fire (vs 18).
Christ was rebuking the Laodiceans. Rebuking is rarely regarded as an act of love. Perhaps this is both indicative of how we both rebuke and love today. Jesus could rebuke with both sternness and compassion so that His hearers could recognise His deep concern for them. May God grant us, especially those of us who are charged with the oversight of the church, to be able to rebuke because we love - just like Christ. Christ's appeal to the Laodiceans was not forceful, but rather an appeal to their volition (free will choice). Thus, He says to them that He was standing at the door and knocking, awaiting for the occupants to open up to Him and invite Him in to dine with them (Rev. 3:20). The same is true today. Christ does not force Himself on anyone. It is up to us to invite Christ in to the dining room of our hearts and welcome Him into intimate fellowship with us. OVERCOMING & HEARING To each of the churches Christ challenges them to overcome and hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. These churches had to overcome the mounting temptation to revert back to Judaism or simply abandon Christ. What made the temptation all the more enticing was the hardship that went with being Christian caused by the constant threat from Judaizers which often meant being stoned and clubbed for blasphemy (as was James the brother of Christ, and author of the Book of James, around this time).
This Jewish persecution against Christians at this time should not be underestimated. If James was brutally martyred in 62 or 69 AD it shows that the hostility experienced by the Church in the early chapters of Acts had not abated even forty years later! Added to this was the edict of Caesar Nero in 64AD that Christians should be killed, and this was a time when these Christians had some very real challenges to overcome. But this wasn't all. Within the Church there was a growing tolerance of immorality and idolatry. So we note the promises of Christ to those in these churches who overcame:
These promises should not be thought of as relating exclusively and uniquely to each of these seven churches. Rather they are universal promises to all believers who overcome. May we be counted among such company!
Listen to Part 3 of Understanding Revelation
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© 2004 Dr Andrew Corbett, Legana, Tasmania, Australia